Iowa Dealer Seeks Tax Help to Build New Facility

An Iowa RV and marine dealer is asking for a reduction in taxes to help with construction of a new facility, according to a report in the Le Mars Daily Sentinel.

Matt Fedders, owner of Fedders Marine & RV in Le Mars, presented his request to the county board of supervisors Tuesday (March 6) detailing his plans to construct a 16,200-square-foot building north of the intersection of Highway 75 and 60.

Since the Highway 75 location is in a Joint Urban Renewal (JUR) Area shared by the county and the city of Le Mars, the supervisors directed Fedders to present his request to the JUR board at its March 19 meeting. That board was established to help county and Le Mars city officials promote economic development in Le Mars and nearby rural areas that are part of the JUR District.

Fedders told the county supervisors Tuesday he plans to go ahead with constructing the new facility, with or without an incentive from the county. “I’m just asking for a little help on the tax side of it,” he said.

Fedders said his plans include constructing an approximately $810,000 facility on 13 acres of land, which cost $185,000. The new facility will have a service area with a wash bay, an office/sales area, storage and an inside show room for RVs, he explained.

“It will have very efficient laminated side wall,” Fedders said. “That’s one thing we are kind of going for, to be very energy efficient.” To make that happen, he is applying for grants through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program, Fedders said.

Building a new, larger facility in a new location is a necessity to keep up with growth of the RV business, Fedders said. “With this new facility, I’m thinking it should be no problem to increase our sales at least by $1.3 million, which brings total sales close to $6 million,” he said. “Obviously we want to keep growing from there.”

A larger facility also means the addition of at least two more employees with an estimated salary cost of $31,000, Fedders said. Currently Fedders Marine & RV employs four full-time and two part-time people, he said.